Ever think how nice it would be to have a doctor in the family? It's quite possible that there could be one in your future - a virtual one that is, powered by artificial intelligence. Whether it's analyzing imagery to detect signs of disease, monitoring patients' medications and pain levels, or helping to determine the best course of treatment for a given patient, AI is providing a welcome boost to preventive and predictive healthcare. By doing some of the ground work in discovering and evaluating new patients, artificial intelligence driven apps can also help to address the shortage of physicians in specialty fields and lower the cost for those suffering from a particular disease.Apps that make use of machine learning algorithms are already being used to detect signs of skin cancer, heart disease and pancreatic cancer. In addition, because of their ability to sift through large volumes of data relating to treatments for specific cases, AI apps can compare a given patient's data to similar cases and recommend a particular course of treatment. Finally, the ability of AI powered healthcare apps to track individual patients' progress and transmit that information to medical personnel makes them a low cost way to keep close tabs on patients. By avoiding the need for more frequent doctor visits these apps can help contain medical costs for sufferers and their families at the same time they're maintaining communication with caregivers.AI Powered Medical Apps attempts to highlight some of the specific ways artificial intelligence is powering the new wave of AI-driven healthcare software (including the use of gamification and virtual reality).

This new tool in the fight against disease is already making a difference and promises to play an even bigger role in the near future.